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Kalash (AK-74M)
The Kalash, also known as the AK-74M (Автомат Калашникова образца 1974 года модернизированный or Kalashnikov automatic rifle model 1974 modernized), was the service rifle of the RF army before the nuclear war that drove humanity underground. Overview As a pre-war weapon, it shows superior craftsmanship and manufacturing, and is highly prized for its ability to keep working in even the worst climatic conditions - a reputation that it has carried through the great war. Considered by many to be among the finest weapons available in the underground, the AK-74M's rugged reliability makes it a highly-prized weapon by many of the metro inhabitants. Since it is a primary weapon, it can use both dirty and military-grade 5.45x39 mm cartriges. The very first Kalash available to the player in Metro 2033 is provided by Bourbon. He offers his rifle as a reward for escorting him from Riga to Dry Station. It can be found behind the player at the start of the respective level. After that, AK-74M's can be reliably found on most levels up until Tower. The Kalash makes a return in Metro Last Light, but appears to have undergone some modifications, including a heat shield and can now accept under-barrel attachments. History AK-74M with PKAV scope Of the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are the original AK's. The pervasiveness of this weapon may be explained in large part by its simplicity. The AK was initially designed for ease of operation and repair by glove-wearing Soviet soldiers in arctic conditions. Its breathtaking simplicity means that it can also be operated by child soldiers in the African desert. Kalashnikovs are a weapon of choice for armed forces and non-state actors alike. They are to be found in the arsenals of armed and special forces of more than 80 countries. In practically every theatre of insurgency or guerrilla combat a Kalashnikov will be found. The popularity of the AK is accentuated by the view that it was a necessary tool to remove colonial rulers in Africa and Asia. Indeed, an image of the rifle appears on the Mozambique national flag, and “Kalash”, an abbreviation of Kalashnikov, is a common boy’s name in some African countries. The AK’s popularity is generally attributed to its functional characteristics; ease of operation, robustness to mistreatment and negligible failure rate. The weapon’s weaknesses - it is considerably less accurate, less safe for users, and has a smaller range than equivalently calibrated weapons - are usually overlooked, or considered to be less important than the benefits of its simplicity. But other assault rifles are approximately as simple to manage, yet they have not experienced the soaring popularity of the Kalashnikov. The AK’s ubiquity could alternatively be explained as a result of a path dependent process. Economic historians recognize that an inferior product may persist when a small but early advantage becomes large over time and builds up a legacy that makes switching costly. In the case of the AK-47 that early advantage may be that as a Soviet invention it was not subject to patent and so could be freely copied. Furthermore, large caches of these weapons were freely distributed to regimes and rebels sympathetic to the Soviet Union - more freely, that is, than weapons were distributed by the US - thereby giving the AK-47 a foothold advantage in the emerging post-World War II market for small arms. According to a path dependence interpretation, inferior durable capital equipment may remain in use because the fixed costs are already sunk, while variable costs (e.g. ammunition, learning costs for new recruits) are lower than the total costs of replacing Kalashnikovs with a new generation of weapons of apparently superior quality. Whatever the exact causes, it remains that for the last half-century the AK has enjoyed a near dominant role in the market for assault rifles making it the most persistent piece of modern military technology. Since the technology used in the AK is essentially unchanged from the original, one may be confident that the prices observed across time and countries are determined market conditions rather than changes in the product. Phillip Killicoat (Department of Economics, Oxford University) WEAPONOMICS: THE GLOBAL MARKET FOR ASSAULT RIFLES. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4202, April 2007. Tactics and Use Metro 2033 350px AK-74M variants in Metro 2033 The AK-74M is arguably the best of all the primary weapons available in the game. It has the second lowest fire rate of the group and moderate accuracy. This weapon lacks a silenced version, which makes it useless for stealth. A slow rate of fire and high damage make it perfect for concerving ammunition. As with all primary weapons, the Kalash loaded with MGRs is capable of killing almost anything with a single shot on higher difficulties. This works both ways though and human opponents armed with AK-74M's grow progressively more and more dangerous as the difficulty setting goes up. Due to that most firefights should be approached with "''who shoots first - wins" mentality. Variants and Obtaining Related Achivements Trivia * There are many AK's that appear to be from earlier builds of the game scattered on certain levels. They have a brown finish and the majority have their stocks broken or sawn off. They are unusable by the player and merely serve as decoration. * The name "Kalash" is derived from its creator Mikhail Kalashnikov's surname. * The way the magazine exposes the cartridges could potentially cause malfunctions and misfeeds in real life, although the famous durability of the AK line, combined with the generally cold and dry atmosphere of the metro, means this may not be as big an issue. * If left idle, Artyom will run his finger along the exposed cartridges in the magazine. * After the level Dry Station the Kalash is one of the most commonly seen weapon used by hostile humans. * The Scope it uses appears to be a PK-AV Scope. * Miller's and Khan's AKs have Bayonets and Laser Sights attached. * Bourbon is the only person in the metro to call it an AK whereas everyone else refers to it as "Kalash". * In the novel the firearms are never refered to by their exact name. Artyom and the VDNKh convoy guards carry bulky military 7.62 calibre "machine guns" with wooden butts, and weapons carried by Bourbon and Hansa guards are heavily implied to be AKS-74U's. ("It was also a Kalashnikov but it was cut-off like the ones held by the Hansa border guards, with a hinged butt and a short socket instead.") Gallery New_Metro8.jpg|Last Light Teaser New_Metro7.jpg|Last Light Teaser AK-74_Last_Light.jpg|E3 2011 demo AK-74_Last_Light_Reloading.jpg|Ditto Outpost_alpha_0003.jpg|The Kalash seen in the Alpha version of the level "Outpost" Bildota.jpg|AK-74M with an old version of the scope from the Metro 2033 beta References